Generate circles in cell 2D
Particle System







Some stages of creation.

User Ortho View above


[A] Plane with Loop Cuts
[B] Edit Mode. Face Mode. Inset Faces. Vertex Mode. Invert selection. Delete Vertices.  Faces remain with empty margin.
[C] Edit Mode. Face Mode. Random Select from Menu.  Delete Faces.
[D] Particle System using blue torus as Render [Object]. The radius of torus &lt; (.5 Margin) is the intention.


Image Editor Render Result


Particles Rendered


Particle System settings shown above.

Of course your variations and improvements are welcome. Click on image to see larger version.